Pokemon Gijinka Tales: Sandshrew and Suicune
by wreckingduty
Summary: A gijinka-style story where Suicune arrives to help a town with a problem with their water source.


Note: All the Pokemon characters in this story are humanized, also known as gijinka.

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Burt knew this mountain like the back of his hand. He had spent many hours mining its rocks for evolutionary stones, fossils, mega stones, and anything else that could be of interest. As a Sandshrew, he couldn't use most of those items, but they fetched nice prices back in town. He liked digging and people liked having easy access to rare items, so it was a win for everyone.

He took a breather, taking the last drink out of his canteen. He wasn't worried, he knew that there was a pool of water with a waterfall just a few tunnels down. In fact, he decided to head that way to fill up.

As he got closer and closer to the waterfall, a foul stench grew heavier and heavier on the air. Finally, as the smell became almost unbearable, the waterfall pool came into view.

It was nearly unrecognizable, looking more like sludge than any kind of water. With a gasp, he turned and bolted away from the pool, heading towards town. Pokemon lived in that mountain and, he was pretty sure that the pool eventually fed into the river that wound through the forest. If there was something wrong here, then it would effect a large amount of people, no one would have water and the forest would die.

Burt ran into one of the Pokemon Centers and gathered as many Pokemon around to tell them of what had happened. A murmur went through the crowd, everyone was becoming agitated and afraid, until a cloaked figure stepped forward.

They pulled off their hood and brushed aside their cloak, revealing the headdress and robes of a Suicune. "My name is Eloise," they said, "and I was called here to your town. I believe that this matter is the reason. Please take me to this pool of water and I will cleanse it."

It was a little intimidating being in the presence of a Pokemon so legendary, but the situation was dire, so Burt gave them a nod, "Come on, it's this way."

The path back and through the mountain was some distance, but Eloise easily kept up with Burt, and he had the distinct feeling that they could just as easily outpace him if they wished.

As they grew closer to the poisoned pool, Eloise kept their cool. They betrayed no emotion on their face, while Burt couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at how foul it smelled.

Upon entering the chamber, Burt hung back, while Eloise stopped right at the edge of the water. They kneeled down and touched the water, closing their eyes. Their body and the entire pool of water glowed and a cold wind suddenly blew in.

As quick as it came, the wind was gone, the glow ended, and the water was immediately crystal clear.

Eloise smiled gently, then stood up. However, their cheer was short-lived, as the waterfall quickly went back to being made of sludge, poisoning the water once more.

They frowned and turned back to Burt, "Can you take me to the source of the waterfall?"

He thought for a moment, "I think so, but it's gonna be a bit of a climb."

Eloise gestured for him to lead the way, "I will not be bothered by a climb."

With that, Burt headed out of the cave and paused for a moment to get his bearings before heading out.

Eloise stayed close, almost, but not quite, rushing him.

Finally, they reached a tall room with a steep wall that had a cave entrance near the very top.

Burt pointed at it, "I could dig us a new tunnel, but takin' this way is gonna be a lot quicker." With that, he got to work scaling the wall. Every now and then, he'd use his pickaxe to dig out a new hand or foot hold, making it easier for both of them to head up the wall.

Eloise was not as skilled as climbing as Burt was, but they were only a few feet behind him. He had done a good job of picking new holds to dig.

Once Burt got to the cave, he climbed in, then turned around, offering a hand to Eloise to help them up. They took his hand, and with a little effort, he pulled them right up into the cave.

They headed through the upper tunnels, Burt stopping every now and then to double check the path.

Eventually, they came to a large room near the top of the mountain. In the middle of the room was what used to be a pool of water, but now it's just a pool of sludge. And, in the pool of sludge were three Muk, laughing and splashing each other and having a great time.

Burt and Eloise watched the three play, unsure of what to do next. Finally, Eloise stepped forward and cleared their throat.

That finally got the attention of the three Muk and they paused in mid-splash to look over at the intruders.

Now that they had their attention, Eloise addressed the trio, "Excuse me, but I must humbly request that you cease inhabiting that pool of water at once."

The eldest of the three Muk snorted, "Why should we?"

Eloise held their calm demeanor, "By occupying that pool of water, you are poisoning not only it, but the river. If you do not stop, then the forest will die and everyone will have to vacate the area."

The middle Muk scoffed, "We've got every right to enjoy the water, same as everyone else."

Eloise shook their head, "No. Not the same as everyone else. The three of you are adversely affecting everyone in the area. I, again, ask you to leave."

The youngest Muk was spoiling for a fight, "What are you gonna do, make us?"

Eloise nodded, "If I must."

The three Muk laughed and then went back to splashing around. They outnumbered the Sandshrew and Suicune and those two didn't look so tough.

Eloise glanced to Burt out of the corner of their eye, "Please stand back."

Burt nodded and quickly backed up. Muk were weak to Ground type attacks, but he was afraid that Earthquake would bring the whole mountain down. None of his other attacks would do much good, so he was going to leave this to Eloise, who seemed to have everything under control.

Satisfied with the distance between them and Burt, Eloise looked directly at the pool of sludge and the three Muk. They did a series of quick and elegant hand gestures, then spoke one word, "Blizzard."

The temperature in the cave rapidly dropped as a freezing wind blew in, bringing ice and snow with it. The Muk stopped and stared as all three of them got a face full of snow. They scrambled out of the pool none too soon, as it froze over completely.

They yelped and went scrambling towards the exit of the cave, being clad only in swim trunks made the Blizzard that much more unpleasant for them.

Once they're gone, Eloise did another hand gesture, causing the Blizzard to slowly come to a stop.

The cave was beautiful covered in ice. Burt was freezing, but Eloise didn't seem to mind at all.

They walked over to the pool and knelt down, rapping their knuckles against the ice. The thick ice coating the pool immediately shattered, leaving the sludge in plain sight.

Eloise did the cleansing ritual again, putting their hand on the pool and restoring it to crystal clear water.

After they stood up, they turned their attention to Burt, who was trying to keep himself warm. "I do not know how far the pollution spread, but the water should be completely restored soon. It will take some time for the purification to travel completely down the river."

Burt nodded to them between shivers, "Th-thanks. Can we get outta here now?"

Eloise gave him a single nod, "Lead the way."

Burt nearly ran out of the cave, bolting a short distance away before finally slowing down as the rest of the mountain wasn't as cold as the frozen room.

Eloise cracked a brief smile at Burt's antics before following suit, though much less frantically.

Burt took them back through the mountain and once they were outside, he spoke to them again. "Thanks again for fixin' the water, we would've been in a heap of trouble if you hadn't."

Eloise smiled and gave him a polite nod, "You are welcome, it was my pleasure to assist you." They turned and started heading away from the town.

Burt frowned and scrambled to catch up, "Hey! Aren't you gonna stay and celebrate? I think we're gonna throw a party for you and everything."

Eloise shook their head, "I am sorry, but I am being called elsewhere. I do not know yet where, but I will know when I arrive. Regretfully, I cannot stay."

Burt sighed and looked down at the ground, "I gotcha. Well, thanks again, and, uh, safe travels."

Eloise smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate your kind words. Farewell, and I wish you and your town the best."

Burt returns their smile with one of his own, "Thanks, and, same to you."

With that, Eloise turned and walked away, when they were nearly out of sight, they turned to see that Burt was still watching. They gave him a small wave, which he returned, then got far enough to be completely out of his sight.

Burt waited just a moment longer, then turned to leave, himself. He headed back to town and told everybody that Eloise had fixed their water problem.

Even though the guest of honor wasn't there, the townspeople were always looking for an excuse to throw a party, so they put together a fun celebration.

Through the years, it became an annual event known as the Suicune Celebration, in honor of the day that their water was restored.


End file.
